Our banking and finance sector practice concentrates in the following areas:

• Bilateral, Club and Syndicated Facilities: We have wide experience of acting on secured and unsecured bilateral, club and syndicated loans and guarantee facilities for banks and their customers.

• Shipping Finance: We advise on all financial matters for the international maritime community.  Our particular areas of expertise include ship building and acquisition finance, finance and operating leases, Islamic financing structures, export credit finance, derivatives transactions, container financing, and workouts and enforcement.

• Aviation Finance: We cover all forms of aircraft and aircraft engine finance transactions, from the straightforward structures to the more complex export credit, tax-based or synthetic lease options.

• Structured, Commodity and Trade Finance: We advise international banks and other financial institutions, producers, traders, transporters and end users on structured, commodity and trade finance transactions, both under English law and French law.  We advise on trade finance across a broad range of commodities, including oil and gas, soft commodities, mining and minerals, power and freight, and structures, including projects, pre-export financings, revolving trade facilities, letters of credit, CMAs and credit insurance.

• Infrastructure and Project Finance: We advise on the financing of ports & terminals, infrastructure and other major projects.

• Islamic Finance: We have advised on the full range of corporate and regulatory insurance issues faced by banks, insurers, agencies, intermediaries and others using Islamic Finance solutions.  This includes product development, impact of regulation, advising on strategic partnerships, joint ventures, company restructurings and funding issues.

• Corporate Finance: We advise on a wide range of corporate finance transactions and related commercial issues, from regulatory matters and tactical advice at the preliminary stage of negotiations and structuring transactions to negotiating, documenting and advising on the implementation of each project in detail.

• Restructuring and insolvency: we advise banks and other lenders on the restructuring of debt and workouts.

• Commercial Litigation: We advise and assist in the resolution of a wide range of financial disputes for banks, particularly those arising from trade and asset finance, complex accounting issues, investment fraud and financial instruments.  We advise a number of financial institutions on remedies available to them following write-downs on investments in Collateral Debt Obligations (CDO's), Credit Default Swaps (CDS's), Total Return Swaps (TRS's) and Structured Investment Vehicles (SIV's).

• Regulatory: We advise financial institutions on the full global regulatory framework, including the core principles of regulation as set out by the IAIS, IOSCO and the BCBS, as well as more detailed proposals such as the Solvency 2 and the Basel 2 framework and how they can be implemented.

What we do Experience

• Acting for a leading bank as agent, security trustee and swap provider on loan and guarantee facilities aggregating €106,400,000 made available to assist finance the acquisition of two newbuilding RoPax vessels from Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder AS in Norway.  The deal involved export credit loans from Eksportfinans ASA which were guaranteed by the commercial lenders as well as stretch facilities from the commercial lenders.

• Acting for our client on an innovative US$680m refinancing of their entire fleet of 13 LNG vessels (the largest-ever refinancing of LNG ships).  The debt was provided by a syndicate of banks led by Standard Chartered Bank.  We were instrumental in structuring the transaction and, unusually for a debt transaction, it was HFW as the borrower's counsel who drafted the loan and security documents for the banks' counsel to review.

• Advised our client in connection with its mining contract with Henry Walker Eltin.  This was valued at US$1.2 bn and involved mine infrastructure development and coal mining sources at the Bengalon Project in East Kalimantan.

• Negotiating various equity joint ventures for container terminal projects in China including Qingdao, Xiamen, Dachan, Shanghai and Nansha including due diligence and negotiation of the joint venture agreements with the port authority and other joint venture partners and obtaining local and state council approvals.

• Advised on the development and financing of the US$1.45bn 1,210MW coal-fired independent power project in Iskenderun (Turkey).  This transaction involved an innovative coal supply structure with coal sourced from the world market, and a very complex coal transhipment structure.

What we do Experience

Our banking and finance sector practice concentrates in the following areas:

• Bilateral, Club and Syndicated Facilities: We have wide experience of acting on secured and unsecured bilateral, club and syndicated loans and guarantee facilities for banks and their customers.

• Shipping Finance: We advise on all financial matters for the international maritime community.  Our particular areas of expertise include ship building and acquisition finance, finance and operating leases, Islamic financing structures, export credit finance, derivatives transactions, container financing, and workouts and enforcement.

• Aviation Finance: We cover all forms of aircraft and aircraft engine finance transactions, from the straightforward structures to the more complex export credit, tax-based or synthetic lease options.

• Structured, Commodity and Trade Finance: We advise international banks and other financial institutions, producers, traders, transporters and end users on structured, commodity and trade finance transactions, both under English law and French law.  We advise on trade finance across a broad range of commodities, including oil and gas, soft commodities, mining and minerals, power and freight, and structures, including projects, pre-export financings, revolving trade facilities, letters of credit, CMAs and credit insurance.

• Infrastructure and Project Finance: We advise on the financing of ports & terminals, infrastructure and other major projects.

• Islamic Finance: We have advised on the full range of corporate and regulatory insurance issues faced by banks, insurers, agencies, intermediaries and others using Islamic Finance solutions.  This includes product development, impact of regulation, advising on strategic partnerships, joint ventures, company restructurings and funding issues.

• Corporate Finance: We advise on a wide range of corporate finance transactions and related commercial issues, from regulatory matters and tactical advice at the preliminary stage of negotiations and structuring transactions to negotiating, documenting and advising on the implementation of each project in detail.

• Restructuring and insolvency: we advise banks and other lenders on the restructuring of debt and workouts.

• Commercial Litigation: We advise and assist in the resolution of a wide range of financial disputes for banks, particularly those arising from trade and asset finance, complex accounting issues, investment fraud and financial instruments.  We advise a number of financial institutions on remedies available to them following write-downs on investments in Collateral Debt Obligations (CDO's), Credit Default Swaps (CDS's), Total Return Swaps (TRS's) and Structured Investment Vehicles (SIV's).

• Regulatory: We advise financial institutions on the full global regulatory framework, including the core principles of regulation as set out by the IAIS, IOSCO and the BCBS, as well as more detailed proposals such as the Solvency 2 and the Basel 2 framework and how they can be implemented.